Number 26
by LtTanyaBoone
Summary: My take on what item number 26 on Tony's Bucket List refers to. SPOILERS for Engaged Pt 1 naturally


_Disclaimers:_ NCIS, the rights to the show and its characters do not belong to me. No money was made by this.  
><em>Spoilers:<em> S09E08 Engaged Pt.1 because of the bucket list  
><em>Pairing:<em> Tony DiNozzo/Abby Sciuto

_This is _my_ take on what #26 _'Tell her'_ refers to._

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><p>He'd worked up his courage all over the week. Gathering small amounts and storing them away, to be used later. Or at least he had attempted to do that. Because it didn't work like that with courage, you couldn't just set it aside for later.<p>

Slowly, he raised the hand and rang the doorbell, waiting. It was strangely silent in the hallway, he couldn't hear her music blaring for once. Her neighbors must've found it calming, now it only served to unsettle him further, to make him even more nervous. He wiped his sweaty hand on his jeans and shifted the sixpack of beer to the other so he could also wipe the one that had held it.

Just then the door opened and he blinked in surprise.

Abby smiled at him, her black hair falling down her shoulders. She was only wearing an unbuttoned, huge shirt, tank top and panties.

"Hi." he breathed and she frowned lightly before shaking her head.

"Hey Tony." she greeted him, stepping aside and opening the door to let him in. He followed down the familiar hallway and sank down on her couch in the living room, still cradling the sixpack. Abby followed behind him, sitting down next to him and turning off her iPod. He frowned lightly.

"Why are you listening to music with your headphones on?" he asked her and Abby shrugged.

"I got a second warning from my landlord and I think he might just really enforce the three strikes rule…" she told him. When he didn't seem to understand, she elaborated. "My neighbors complained because of my music."

"Twice?" he wondered. Mischief suddenly sparkled in Abby's green eyes and she grinned wildly.

"Nooooooo…" she shook her head, watching him, waiting until he figured it out.

"Oh." he breathed, feeling himself blush lightly. Some things he didn't really want to know.

"Oh, come on. It's not as if you never… contributed to that." she teased him. When he didn't look at her but chose to stare at the beer instead, she gave a soft sigh. "Are you gonna clutch that the entire night, or are we gonna drink it?" Abby asked him. He looked up, swallowing thickly. He could use some Dutch courage right about now, but then again, he didn't want her to think he was only doing this because he was drunk. So he held out the bottles to her.

"Nah, I'm good." he told her. Abby shrugged and got up, finding the bottle opener and helping herself to a bottle. Tony waited, tapping his foot as his friend took a swallow of the amber liquid, watching him all the time.

"If you're not gonna drink, are you at least going to tell me why you're here?" she asked him, her voice going soft. Tony blinked at her. "You're starting to scare me, Tony." she muttered, toying with the label on her bottle.

"Sorry." he apologized, reaching into his pocket and taking out a folded sheet of paper. He didn't unfold it, he just turned it over in his hands again and again, holding onto it. "I made a bucket list." he said, watching Abby's reaction out of the corner of his eye. To his surprise, she just nodded, taking another drink. "You're not surprised?" he asked, turning to look at her. Abby shrugged.

"Not really, no. Tim already told me." she elaborated. "But even if he hadn't, you aren't the only one that made one."

Tony blinked at her.

"You have a bucket list? YOU?"

Abby shrugged again. "Yeah. I was bored one day."

"What's on it?" he asked her, leaning sideways against the back of the couch. Abby scooted back and mimicked his position, drawing a leg up under herself.

"What's on most people's lists." she sighed. "Travel. See lots of sights. Fall in love. Stupid things that could get you arrested…" she trailed off. Tony raised an eyebrow and she rolled her eyes at him. "What's on yours?" she wanted to know, finishing her beer, though she did not reach for a new one when she placed the empty bottle on the couch table.

"You know, the usual. Though I don't think you could get arrested for any of them." he smiled at her before looking down at the folded piece of paper. Abby let him be, shifting lightly in her seat. He swallowed thickly. "There's one, number 26…" he started, trailing of.

"Okay, help me out here, what's number 26?" Abby asked and he looked up at her, surprised.

"McGee didn't tell you that?"

The Goth rolled her eyes at him. "No, he didn't."

Tony swallowed again, drawing a deep breath.

"Number 26 is 'Tell Her'." he whispered, not daring to look at Abby. If he had, he would have caught the frown on her face and realized that this wasn't going as planned.

"Tell who what?" Abby wondered. His head snapped up and he stared at her, wondering for a second how she could be so good at her job and be so clueless sometimes. But then again, she wasn't an investigator, she was a Forensic Analyst. She seemed to be pretty good at reading people, though, because her green eyes widened. "Me? Tell me?" she asked and he slowly nodded. "Tell me what?" Abby frowned and he took another deep breath. "Tony, come on, now you're teasing me, that's not fair."

"Remember when we first started working together?" he asked her, waiting. Abby's frown disappeared and a wide smile spread on her face.

"Of course, how could I forget those days?" she grinned. "Not to mention the nights." Abby added, winking, the mischief back in her eyes. This time, he didn't blush, he just stared at her before swallowing and rubbing a hand over his face.

"You never found it weird that I suddenly…" he slowly said, trailing off and watching her shrug.

"We weren't exactly yearning for a stable and long-term relationships. We were both looking for fun, it was okay." she told him, giving him a soft smile that he returned.

"Yeah, I know. Still. Breaking our… casual encounters off, it wasn't exactly my idea." he gathered his courage. "Gibbs made me chose." Tony told her. Abby sat there, silent. She blinked slowly, sinking back into the cushions of her couch. "Abbs?" her friend asked, slowly reaching out to rest his hand on her knee and she seemed to come back from her thoughts.

"Why are you telling me this now, Tony?" she asked him, her green eyes unreadable for once. Tony frowned slightly before shrugging.

"I don't know?" he offered, clearing his throat. "I just, I guess I didn't want you to believe that it had something to do with you. Because it didn't. It was just-"

"Me not being important enough for you to fight for?" she supplies and he feels himself paling. He quickly shakes his head.

"No! No, that's not, I didn't mean-" he starts, but then Abby's face erupts into a big smile.

"Oh, stop it." she shakes her head, patting his hand lightly. "I know what you meant. Plus, we really were just friends with benefits, and if he had asked me to chose, I'd so have done the same." Abby assures him and Tony swallows.

"Really?" he asks her, his voice higher than usual. Her nod reassures him and she wordlessly holds out a bottle of beer and the opener. This time, he gives a relieved sigh and takes them, shifting back on the couch until his back is resting against the backrest because he already knew that Abby would come snuggling up against him. Which she does, after grabbing her own bottle. She turns on the TV and hands over the remote, wordlessly telling him it's his turn to chose what they're watching. Just as he had settled on a James Bond movie he's pretty sure he forced her to watch before already, she suddenly speaks up again.

"Hey, Tony?" she asks and he looks over at her to gauge her reaction and intention, but her face is relaxed and she's following the movie.

"Yeah?"

"I'm kinda glad he made you chose." Abby admits, shifting even closer to him. "Because if he hadn't, one of us would have probably screwed this up and we'd have ended up hating each other and- I'm glad we didn't." she tells him, turning her head to smile at him. Tony gives her a soft smile.

"Yeah, maybe it was a good thing." he agrees, pressing a soft kiss to her temple before they both turn their attention back to the screen.

"Just so you know, next time I will pick the movie." Abby tells him after a minute and he can't help but groan at the prospect.

_fin._

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><p><em>This was my first attempt at writing anything remotely Tabby, so I'd appreciate your thoughts.<em>


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